Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-09-16
QUAIL SHOOTING.
WITH DOG AND GUN THROUGH
AUTUMN FlELCS.
Maurice thompson, the Noet and Natural.
list Picturcsquely Describes the ne
lights of This Prairie sport assEn-
joyed by Him.
[CopyIiglt 1887, by the Author
written for ,hc Free PrcssJ

When the leaves begin to fall and the
wind sends thrill of wintry suggestion into
ones blood, one feels a little too vigorous
to he sentimental, too restless to stay in
doors. and yet too lazy to work. Then it is
that the dog and the gun are both comfort
ing and profitable. The person vino takes
no account of the savage element just under
the surface of the highest enlightenment
is not yet acquainted with life In the tissue
of mans nature. made incradicably heredi-
tarv. Turks the spirit of the beast of prey,
which in fact man is. You go to your table
and munich your lamb outlet, your beef
steak your boiled chicken or your pork
chop and never dream that you are doing
Just what the savage lion and mcrciless tiger
do. You are in fact. devouring your prey.
The demure and lovely girl mincinglT
pucking ut her bit of salmon or trout with
her silver fork. is not one line removed from
the otter or the ti,h-hawk, so far as the fish
is concerned. 1t matters little with the
quail whether its dad body is eaten by Il
proving foN on by a young man at Del
monico'S. The latted calf would as
soon be torn 10y the wolf as by the friends
IF proligal or the guests at a wedding or
a barbecue The eagle fctchcs the carcass of
a lamb or of a hare to its young, man fetch
es sirloin or a porter-hou cut TO his y
quaij pot pie is a dish for n king, or, for that
matter. for n sovereign American, and
quail-shooting is a sport for the gods and
for all other free and happy citizens Of Il
fairly governed commonwealth. The hum
and whir of strong wings "A glimpse Of a
bevy in full flight, a tinglng in the blood,
a rapid aim. a double shot, and who cares
for TourguenciH'S sentimental confessions,
| wonder if Tourgucneif was vegetarian.
Usually these fellows who write so hysteri-
cally about cruelty to game birds and the
like. are Sticklers for high wOOdcOck and
for quail on toast. \ man may grow too
nervous and sentimental to care for Shoot
ing or angling and so may condemn as brutal
the killing of game and fish. but | observe
that the softeSt hearted instances of the kind
rarely declines his chicken or his giblcts, his
trout or his chowder Sometimes | wonder
how these tender hearted but tough Stom-
aChed philosophers expect any one to have
a bit of faith in their sincerity. 1t looks like
eating a COW and crying over quail to
one who keeps his head cool. Some men
keep birds in pens and call them poultry:
these they kill and sell to men like Tour
guenieff who worry over the cruelteS of
the sportsman. If the birds had their say
they might choose the chance of evading the
sportsman rather than accept the certain
death offered by the poultryman who used
to furnish Tourguepeitfs table. | think
that | should rather be wild deer than to
be a calf Stalled for the market. The shoes
we wear are the fiayings from our prey.
This is realism | am writing. How do you
like it?
But quail shooting has its romance which
is Just as true as its realism. y healthy
souled man is rather apt to he IA keen sports
man and humane person. | have heard of
a very rich man who writes unanimously
upon humanity and charity and goodness
and yet sends his daughter into the fields to
work like slave. Over against this | re
member a tirelegS and killing sportsman who
sent sick girl the quail he killed and who
kept his own daughter in the house and he
was not rich at all. Life is deeper than
philosophy, and humanity is not to be eX-
pressed in the terms of hysterin or hypo-
chondria.
| know an old pointer dog who likes to
hunt quail and eat them too. | know man
who ea's them greedily but depecateS shoot
ing them. As a safe companion | prefer
the dog. Upon the whole sincerity is not
easy to simulate successfully; but | should
think that a man might be cunning enough
to become a vegetarian before he sets him
self up as n critic of those who believe in
shooting quail before they eat them.
like Is cuagc shot gun for quail, "A
brcech- loader, of course double bar1'elcl and
not over six ana half pounds i'll weight
Let the day De a little cloudy with the wind
in the south. for then the birds lie well to
the dog and fly steady when flushed. They
look larger, too, in the soft light of such a
day. There is a nutty fragance and u
fruity mellowness in autumn weather suited
to the vigorous mood of the healthy sports
man, acting as a restraint upon him. keep
ing him from over eXertion. Wire fences
studded with angular barbs are not so pleas
ing to sit upon the old fashioned worm
fences We're, but the same blue violetS grow
along the untitled ribband between the field,
and upon the whole the spot has more real
pleasures and fewer hindrances now than il
had when game birds were plentier. \ heavy
bag is the smallest item in the catalogue Of
a shooting day $ incidents. a bevy 81 %
birds scattered in level stubble field and
"A dog with high tail and sure nose
working among them with all the tact and
judgment of dime novel detective, have
an indescribable effect upon me. Shakes
peare is tame and Homer commonplace in
comparison. Under such circumstances the
mere matter of life is a concentrated delight
What if do kill quail or two purely for
amusement, its not so bloodthirsty a thing
as watching murder on the stage or gloat-
ing over the description of great battle, of
history. Man was made to shoot quaii-if
he was made to eat them.
See that dog, gold brown setter, as he
galiops over the stuhble? He's the fellow
that Mrs. Browning describes;
Leap, Thy broad tail valves Il hight.
Lap, Thy slender feet are fright,
ClnOpied in tringCs
Leap. those tas clcd ears of thine,
Flicker strangely, fair and fine
Down their golden inches!"
See how he elevates his slender nose!
Down it goes, he is roadiug; there he is stiff
as if frozen in his tracks. Steady Flush,
steady boy! Now, ladies and gentlemen
of the anti-quail shooting club, put your
fingers in your ears and prepare to scream
for Pm going to shoot, What IA crisp au-
tumn fragrance comes over the SHINING
s'ubble, and how blue are those streaks of
sky What wide open, flaming great vel